
Sunscreen innovation has made remarkable upgrades in recent years and our latest edition is dedicated to such: from advancing dispersion and boosting skin benefits, to "retrofitting" formulas to market demands and ethically, reliably measuring SPF.
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Sunscreen innovation has made remarkable upgrades in recent years and our latest edition is dedicated to such: from advancing dispersion and boosting skin benefits, to "retrofitting" formulas to market demands and ethically, reliably measuring SPF.
Unlocking the Secrets of Sunscreen Innovation
Ingredient and product developers have unlocked the secrets of sensorially pleasing skin feel, invisible application and broad-spectrum UV/vis/IR protection. They've also uncovered more sustainable ways to craft technologies, combined skin repair benefits with sun protection, and turned to ingestible answers to boost the body's defenses against exposure.
Pushing innovation further, a recent report in Nano Letters1 describes a sunscreen combining UV defense with cooling effects to comfort skin during hot days. Per the source, "the 'radiative cooling' sunscreen exhibits a low ultraviolet (UV) transmissivity (4.86%), a high solar reflectivity (90.19%) and a high mid-infrared emissivity (92.09%)." A similar cooling sunscreen concept was presented at in-cos Global last year among a line of prototypes, some also fusing sunscreen with scent.2
Forbes highlighted Shiseido's work with the start-up Bacfarm to use molecules extracted from the cell membrane of bacteria to filter out harmful sun rays.3 And, during the SCC Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, two adaptive sun and light technologies were revealed:
- one "smart pigment" blend to transform blue light to higher wavelengths, and
- a photochemical precursor that when exposed to UVB, gradually self-adjusts to absorb UVA (for more on this, see Carmago's Expert Opinion commentary).
In This Issue
Our latest edition of C&T is focused on elevating sun protection. Prettypaul, et al., explore how a functionalized soy film former can boost SPF and improve dispersion in sunscreen emulsions. Schaal describes the multifunctional capacity of caprylyl glyceryl ether to facilitate pigment wetting for color cosmetics and sunscreens while also boosting preservation and imparting emollient effects.
The Industry Insight highlights the two new ISO-approved test methods to measure SPF, and Lionetti and Montoli address "retrofitting" sunscreen formulas to meet market and regulatory demands. Finally, the Expert Opinions feature provides insider views on current and future dynamics in sunscreen development.
In addition, Lapeyre, et al., present a novel microalgal alternative to retinol and bakuchiol that rewinds signs of photoaging and soothes skin. Gonçalves gives us an overview of generational trends — from Boomers to Alpha — for formulating demographic beauty. Yarussi updates us on U.S. cosmetic regulations while the Expert Opinions feature provides a behind-the-scenes view of trends in cosmetic testing and production.
We hope our latest edition illuminates ideas to advance your product development.
References
1. Xu, J., Wu, X., ... Zhang, R., et al. (2024, Nov 15). High-performing radiative cooling sunscreen. Nano Letters. Available at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c04969.
2. Sunsense3 is a line of sunscreen concepts from DSM-Firmenich
3. Hirschmiller, S. (2024, Dec 23). How Shiseido is future proofing sunscreen using bacteria. Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniehirschmiller/2024/12/23/how-shiseido-is-future-proofing-sunscreen-using-bacteria/.